Autumn diet of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina) at Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard, assessed via scat and fatty-acid analyses
This study used hard-part analyses from scats (n = 117) and stomachs (n = 3) to investigate the diet of high Arctic harbour seals (Phoca vitulina L., 1758) living on Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard, in early autumn. Additionally, it compared the results of fatty-acid analyses of the seals' blubbe...
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z04-093 2024-09-30T14:31:22+00:00 Autumn diet of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina) at Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard, assessed via scat and fatty-acid analyses Andersen, Signe M Lydersen, Christian Grahl-Nielsen, Otto Kovacs, Kit M 2004 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z04-093 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z04-093 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 82, issue 8, page 1230-1245 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 2004 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z04-093 2024-09-19T04:09:49Z This study used hard-part analyses from scats (n = 117) and stomachs (n = 3) to investigate the diet of high Arctic harbour seals (Phoca vitulina L., 1758) living on Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard, in early autumn. Additionally, it compared the results of fatty-acid analyses of the seals' blubber versus that of potential prey with the findings of the more traditional diet assessment method. Svalbard harbour seals appear to be opportunistic, polyphagous feeders similar to the situation in other parts of their range. Members of the cod-family, and secondarily the sculpin-family, dominated the diet of harbour seals on Svalbard. Small fish comprised most of the diet of the harbour seals; invertebrates appeared to be insignificant. Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L., 1758) was the most important species in the diet in terms of biomass, whereas polar cod (Boreogadus saida (Lepechin, 1774)) was the most frequently consumed prey. Our comparison between hard-part diet analyses and fatty acids is far from definitive, but it indicates a general influence of the diet on the fatty-acid composition of the inner blubber layer. However, it also suggests systematic selective processes in the incorporation of fatty acids into the blubber. Observed differences between the fatty-acid composition of the different blubber layers and possible differences between sex and age classes warrant further investigation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic atlantic cod Boreogadus saida Gadus morhua Phoca vitulina polar cod Prins Karls Forland Svalbard Canadian Science Publishing Arctic Svalbard Prins Karls Forland ENVELOPE(11.175,11.175,78.543,78.543) Arctic Harbour ENVELOPE(-67.530,-67.530,69.518,69.518) Canadian Journal of Zoology 82 8 1230 1245 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
This study used hard-part analyses from scats (n = 117) and stomachs (n = 3) to investigate the diet of high Arctic harbour seals (Phoca vitulina L., 1758) living on Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard, in early autumn. Additionally, it compared the results of fatty-acid analyses of the seals' blubber versus that of potential prey with the findings of the more traditional diet assessment method. Svalbard harbour seals appear to be opportunistic, polyphagous feeders similar to the situation in other parts of their range. Members of the cod-family, and secondarily the sculpin-family, dominated the diet of harbour seals on Svalbard. Small fish comprised most of the diet of the harbour seals; invertebrates appeared to be insignificant. Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L., 1758) was the most important species in the diet in terms of biomass, whereas polar cod (Boreogadus saida (Lepechin, 1774)) was the most frequently consumed prey. Our comparison between hard-part diet analyses and fatty acids is far from definitive, but it indicates a general influence of the diet on the fatty-acid composition of the inner blubber layer. However, it also suggests systematic selective processes in the incorporation of fatty acids into the blubber. Observed differences between the fatty-acid composition of the different blubber layers and possible differences between sex and age classes warrant further investigation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Andersen, Signe M Lydersen, Christian Grahl-Nielsen, Otto Kovacs, Kit M |
spellingShingle |
Andersen, Signe M Lydersen, Christian Grahl-Nielsen, Otto Kovacs, Kit M Autumn diet of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina) at Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard, assessed via scat and fatty-acid analyses |
author_facet |
Andersen, Signe M Lydersen, Christian Grahl-Nielsen, Otto Kovacs, Kit M |
author_sort |
Andersen, Signe M |
title |
Autumn diet of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina) at Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard, assessed via scat and fatty-acid analyses |
title_short |
Autumn diet of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina) at Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard, assessed via scat and fatty-acid analyses |
title_full |
Autumn diet of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina) at Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard, assessed via scat and fatty-acid analyses |
title_fullStr |
Autumn diet of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina) at Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard, assessed via scat and fatty-acid analyses |
title_full_unstemmed |
Autumn diet of harbour seals ( Phoca vitulina) at Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard, assessed via scat and fatty-acid analyses |
title_sort |
autumn diet of harbour seals ( phoca vitulina) at prins karls forland, svalbard, assessed via scat and fatty-acid analyses |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z04-093 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z04-093 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(11.175,11.175,78.543,78.543) ENVELOPE(-67.530,-67.530,69.518,69.518) |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Prins Karls Forland Arctic Harbour |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Prins Karls Forland Arctic Harbour |
genre |
Arctic atlantic cod Boreogadus saida Gadus morhua Phoca vitulina polar cod Prins Karls Forland Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic atlantic cod Boreogadus saida Gadus morhua Phoca vitulina polar cod Prins Karls Forland Svalbard |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 82, issue 8, page 1230-1245 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z04-093 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
82 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
1230 |
op_container_end_page |
1245 |
_version_ |
1811635960975196160 |